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Scandanavia

continued from page 1 1

ly more dramatic as we approached
Norway, and the pass at the border is
a glacier-scoured, boulder-strewn
area pockmarked with small lakes
and surrounded by snowy mountains
and dramatic waterfalls. We found
the border crossing deserted and just
drove straight through.

Our first fjord sighting
came when the road began following
along steep-sided lake and we real-
ized that the “lake” was actually the
ocean. For the next 140 miles, the
road wound through the mountains
and fjords of the mainland and then
the mountains, fjords, and bridges of
the Vesteralen Islands. Our destina-
tion, the Lofoten Islands, is at the end
Ofthe archipelago and is accessible
‘"113’ by ferry or plane.

We spent the “night” (and
We use that word loosely) at the
Rainbow Vestfjord Hotel in Svolvaer.
We’d picked the hotel out era list,
and how could we pass up the rain-
bow reference? (It’s actually a chain,
50 You can stay in Rainbow Hotels
all over Norway.) Little did we know
the hotel was actually on the docks,
and we could hear workers unloading

M

fish on the docks 24 hours a day. We
spent some time sightseeing (which
you can do even at midnight) before
falling into bed.

' The next day we toured a
Viking archaeology site and contin-
ued on the E-10. Fishing is a major
industry in Lofoten, and nearly every
harbor town has huge wooden racks
covered in cod drying in the 24-hour
sunlight. The racks were a mixture, of
function and art, with their odd
angles straining towards the sun to
soak up the warmth and store it for
the cold months to come. We tried to
imagine what the winter would be
like, when it is dark for two months
at a time, and everything is frozen.

The scenery continued to

get more and more dramatic and, as
if to add emphasis, the road got nar-
rower and narrower until it finally
ended in the town of A, the last car-
accessible village in the chain of
islands. (A, appropriately enough, is
the last letter of the Norwegian
alphabet.) Peaks on the islands rise
over 3000 feet from sea level, almost
straight up in many cases. Many of
the fishing villages are built on a
combination of piers and skerries
(small rocky islets) in the harbors
because there isn’t enough flat on the
main islands. '

I Words fail us in trying to
explain the sheer magnitude and
ruggedness of these islands. Although
the town of A turned out to be quite
nice, the crowning jewel of the
islands is actually the nearby town of
Reine with its steep mountains and
quaint village houses with green and
red roofs shining in the sun. It was
jaw-droppingly beautiful.

Biking, Vikings and Big City
Life

Reluctantly, we drove back to Kiruna
thinking that the mainland scenery,
which we had thought so dramatic
just a few days before, was now
merely scenic. We caught an
overnight train to Uppsala, a thriving
university town an hour north of
Stockholm. One of our first surprises
in Uppsala was the number of bicy-
cles —.there must have been hundreds
parked outside the train station. A
tribute to the low crime even in
cities, many of them weren’t even
locked!

Visiting Uppsala (because
Stockholm ’s hotels were booked
solid) was something of a happy
accident, since Uppsala is the home
of Carl Linnaeus, a famous botanist
who created the genus-species Latin
naming system that we still use

today. We toured gardens that were
part of the university’s grounds, and
also visited Linnaeus’ own gardens
and home. The old part of Uppsala,
Gamla Uppsala, has three huge
Viking burial mounds and a fabulous
new historical museum.

The last day of our trip
found us in Stockholm. We were pre-
pared to be disappointed after having
been in the exotic northern wilder-
ness, but Stockholm was amazingly
beautiful and engaging. Built on a
series of islands and connected by
bridges and ferries, it feels unhurried,
clean, safe and eflicient. In
Stockholm we found a nice balance
of traditional tourist fare (the Royal
Palace, the Vasa Museum, and Gamla
Stan) and our own interests (an
aquarium, the Postal Museum, and
the Royal Coin Cabinet). Like many
big cities, Stockholm seems to have
something for everyone. Stockholm
does have a vibrant gay population,
and their pride parade is held every
year in early August (see www.stock-
holmpride.org).

Ready to Return

Sweden and Norway are very gay
friendly, and travelis easy and effi-
cient (getting a rental car is really
easy in Kirunal). The language barri-

er is not great, as nearly everyone
speaks excellent English — though
most signs and some museum dis-
plays are only in Swedish or
Norwegian. Though Scandinavia has
a reputation for being expensive, the
current favorable exchange rate made
most prices very similar to visiting
cities in the US. Exceptions include
gasoline ($4-5/gallon) and alcohol,
which are both heavily taxed.
Restaurant meals can also be very
expensive, but pizza, sandwiches,
and fast food are reasonably priced.
Ultimately, we came away
with an increased appreciation for the
unspoiled wilderness that is available

-to us here in the US. We also have a

renewed sense of urgency about
pushing legislation forward to gain
equal family rights for gay and les-
bian couples. Increasing numbers of
European countries are recognizing
the value of all families by offering
equal protection under the law, and
the US continues to shuflle its feet.
What is possible there must be possi-
ble here.V

Elizabeth I-lane lives in Underhill
Center: Stina Bridgman lives in exile
in Earlville, NY where Elizabeth will
be joining her next month.